does anyone know what to do about a dog being overly protective of her owner? My dog will growl an be very agressive against anyone she dosent know. But only if i'm around. If I take her to be boarded for a while, all I ever hear from the people that work there is how sweet she is.

anyone have any suggestions? should I try a shock collar?

 

What kind of dog is it ? Is it a small dog, like a poodle or something ? I don't
think you can shock a dog into NOT protecting it's owner ? My family when I was growing up had a toy Spitz, and he got so possessive of my mom that
you couldn't even sit down next to her without the dog thinking you were up
to something and spazzing out. We worked at it but nothing short of putting
him in another room would work....
I now have a Cairn-a-poo ( toy poodle / Cairn terrier cross breed ) that has been very calm her whole life (8 years I've had her now) but her mother
(full breed toy poodle was a total spaz when it came to going near her owner)
The Vet ( way back when ) said the small breeds can get nutty

 

Take it out back and shoot it before its too late.




Talk to a trainer. Not sure if a shock collar is the best thing for this situation.

 

I agree with jztbcz.
I don't think you can train your dog not to be protective of you.
I have two German Shepard’s, both are very protective of me and my family and I did not train them to do this. It is just in their nature.
One is a little bit more possessive than the other, especially with me, and no matter what I try, she never changes.
She acts very much like the dog you mention. She barks and growls at everything in site but when I am around it gets even worse. I can have company at the house, and when they first show up, she barks and growls and places herself between them and me. She will continue to do this even if they have been there for a couple of hours. The only thing I can do is lock her up in the garage or backyard.
Now my other Shepard barks and growls but once she knows they are allowed, she ignores them and goes back to sitting at the end of the driveway, surveying the yard for other intruders.
She has actually gone through a open window after someone before. I called the A/C man to come and look at our air conditioner and since I had to leave my house open I left my dogs inside. On my way out to meet him, I remembered the windows were opened (screened) so I called his office so they could warn him to stay in the truck. He didn't get the call.
He gets out before I can get home and the dog comes through the screen.
Luckily, he was smart and did not run and I pulled in the driveway as it was happening. I got out and yelled for my dog and she stopped.
After I got his bill, I wish maybe I was a little bit later on getting there. He charged me $100 to push a reset button on the outside unit.

Anyways, I think you should just accept that the dog thinks he needs to protect you and when it becomes an issue, just lock her up for a little while.
It is a dog's nature to protect the ones they love.

Gary

 

You need to get that dog whisperer guy from national geographic to come to your house. That'll be awesome.

Lemme ask you this: Whenever your dog growls and snaps at people, do you pet it on the head and coo at it to calm it down?

 

She's a medium sized dog, about the size of a border colie. Just wish I could get that out of her. I like to go down to my godfathers ranch all the time where we just chill out, and I just cant take her if there are going to be kids around, the adults dont care, they know she's full of crap, but she'll scare the crap out of some kids.

 

I don't know where to point you on the net, but you should do some google searches on how dog pack relationships relate to dog-owner relationships and find some training methods based on that.

You got to make sure that the dog understands you're the alpha, and that you're not gonna take it acting the fool like it does. That doesn't mean you have to beat the crap out of it or anything, mind; or necessarily even use a shock collar. Since this is probably years of behavior that has somehow been reinforced, it may take a while to train it back out of the animal.

 

I agree. Every time she does it don't try to calmly calm her down by petting her or patting her on the head. Snap at her and scald her in a rough voice. Then don't let her come around you again until she calms back down. Stomp your foot and tell her to get away. Let her know that you disaprove of that behavior.

 

what about this and using the tone only modes. I wonder if that might help break her of it....

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1117118136976

 

Yup, that's exactly it, and the same thing a pack alpha would do to another member that was misbehaving.

 

I doubt it, and you don't even need to spend money on it. Just take the time to train the animal and everything'll be fine.

 

the dog is respecting the alpha role. The dogs role in the pack has become protector. Its in the nature.

 

Right, so you have to change that behavior by reinstituting yourself as the alpha and letting the dog know that you don't need protecting.

 

An Alpha dog would attempt to dominate everyone, including the master. If she isn't showing aggression toward you then I believe your problem is that she does see you as the Alpha and is defending you against what she perceives to be threats to her "pack". I'm not convinced that shouting at her would be the proper thing to do, she may think you are shouting with her and merely step up her defense, making matters worse. Try filling a tin can with coins and when she starts growling, shake it noisily; this should momentarily divert her attention, long enough for you to get her attention focused on you, then take her by the scruff of the neck and lead her out of the room. Once you have her attention it would be acceptable to scold her so she knows you are unhappy. Shut her in a room, away from the visitors, for 15 minutes or so; then release her from the room and see how she reacts to them. If she starts growling again repeat the process, and keep repeating it until she understands that you will not tolerate that sort of behavior. It could be a lengthy process but the key is consistency, if she is constantly being scolded and locked away from visitors she will most likely modify her behavior. One thing to keep in mind, an aggressive dog usually will not become more docile on their own accord. If left unchecked, the aggression will usually get worse.

If her attitude does not start to improve after a few months, I would say ask your veterinarian to recommend a trainer or behavior specialist to meet with you and your dog, privately at first, with the goal of getting you and her ready to enter an obedience class. They can also help you select a class in your area that would work best for you and your dog. An obedience class is usually the best place to get her used to working around others without going nuts, and give you some handling skills to control her.

Hope everything works out for you